MCU: 25 most heartbreaking Marvel Cinematic Universe character deaths

MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. – ABC’s “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” stars Clark Gregg as Director Phil Coulson. (ABC/Kurt Iswarienkio )

9. Agent Coulson

Movie it happened in: The Avengers

Why it was so heartbreaking: You’ll be forgiven if you thought I was talking about the more recent death in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but that’s not the case. As I promised at the very start of this list, this is only for the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. That means the deaths in the ABC series don’t count, even if they are connected to the movie universe.

Plus, Agent Coulson’s first death was far more heartbreaking because we weren’t sure how he could come back. And he died at the hands of a villain that we just wanted (and needed) to be good.

We’d spent the movie getting to know Coulson. It was clear that Fury trusted him and there was an element of brotherhood between them. Others respected him and that was more than enough for us to put our own trust him in.

Just as it looked like the world could be saved, Loki had a trick up his sleeve. Were we really that surprised? Well, not really. But that didn’t make killing Coulson any easier on us.

But it wasn’t this that puts Coulson’s death in the top 10. The bit that stands out is that even on death’s door, Coulson was able to protect the Avengers. He used his dying moments to take down Loki and give Fury time.

In a way, the fact that Fury resurrected Coulson adds to this heartbreak. Fury had never done it to anyone else, making it clear that Fury felt lost after Coulson’s death. By watching Captain Marvel, we now get an understanding of why.